Although Geoff had to cu the trip short and miss the last trial we had planned on attending, it was really great to get to spend some "real" time with him.
The trip started with the MAC trial where all of the dogs were incredible! You are quite possibly going to get tired of reading that phrase because it pretty much describes each weekend:-)
I had the opportunity to work with my peeps in Minnesota after the trial and it was the usual awesome time!
I worked for 2.5 days then it was off to Calgary for the AAC Regional Championships, what a great event!
First, it was held in the most incredibly beautiful setting on a perfectly groomed rugby field overlooking all of Calgary and the Rocky mountains in the back ground.
Geoff and I showed a total of 5 dogs at the event and all dogs not only qualified for the AAC Nationals but all ended the weekend in the top 10 placements in their divisions.
Maze was the superstar winning all 3 rounds of Steeplechase, and, winning overall 26" dog becoming the 2011 Regional Champion!
Wally was a superstar in his own right also winning all 3 rounds of Steeplechase, to become the 22" Steeplechase Champ! Wally finished the weekend in 5th place overall.
SoBe always an adventure ended up 10th overall but did have a few really impressive moments, including but not limited to winning one of the gamblers classes after completing all available gambles! In Canada the gamblers courses include mini gambles as well as the main gamble, in this particular class SoBe completed a total of 5 gambles :-)
Rumor and Geoff brought home the bronze medal from the 16" specials class and Xtra 6th overall in 10" Veterans. She had so much fun!
After the trial ended Geoff and I headed to Banff where we hiked and played with dogs :-) A lovely night of camping and a campfire really made the trip fantastic as well as quite relaxing! The Banff area is so incredibly beautiful!! I was quite amazed at how dog friendly all of the parks are as well. We swam dogs, hiked with the dogs and just basically hung out with the dogs for a couple of days, it was heaven!
Then is was off to Salt Lake City where I once again got to spend a day working with my awesome students!! Geoff headed home after he dropped me off in Salt Lake and the dogs and I once again had the pleasure of staying with our dear friends Colleen and Kevin for a few days as I was yet again trialing :-)
Guess what? The dogs were BRILLIANT!! I have had a most incredible year of trialing thus far and I attribute a lot of it to really exploring the mental part of this game and essentially relaxing and enjoying the ride!
Somehow, I managed to forget to mention that Danger made his debut in Jumpers, gamblers and Snooker at the MAC trial :-) We have a VERY long way to go but he did manage a jumpers Q!
This past weekend he got a gamblers Q, although I was quite surprised as I was under the impression you had to actually get some points in the opening portion of the class as well as get the gamble :-) I thought it might be fun to post the video, if I had one :-), and play a game called find the points! Did I mention we have a ways to go...
Anyway, back to Salt Lake, suffice to say that over the past several weekends my dogs and I have done our fair share of winning, but, most of all we have had some amazingly spectacular runs, whether they were winning runs, placing runs, or, in some cases, NQ'ing runs :-)
The long and the short of it, I love my dogs, I love my family, I am seriously grateful for my friends, my students, and, all of the wonderful people that I am lucky enough to get meet along the way. I am a very lucky person indeed and I am already looking forward to a great weekend at the Rocky Mountain Regional this coming weekend! I am sure over the course of the weekend I will learn lots, have some majorly memorable moments, and, possibly some disappointments as well, but, when all is said and done I will still have my dogs, my family, my friends and lots to look forward to!
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